Q418C roundthebend Eddie Vedder Black P90 Tele replica

djspecialist

This is going to be damn cool when it's finished.

Then you can do this with it ...

roundthebend

@djspecialist ;
I wouldn't get your hopes up that it'll be that cool. I struggle to change the strings on a guitar, so building and customising a kit is going to be a challenge.

If it goes well and I have a playable guitar at the end, I won't have the guts to do that. If it doesn't go well, I'll be doing that all the way through the build!  

roundthebend

My God, this is going to be a slow burner for me!

This afternoon, I set up my workshop:


Much to my wife's joy:


You'll notice I've put it the wrong way round, that was so I had a large flat surface to place the guitar body. However, regardless of that, the reach of the drill bit isn't going to be deep enough so I need to adjust my plan a little. I think I'll just stand the unit on top of the body and put the press as low as it will go so I can drill through the base.



I had to use my hand drill to make pilot holes for the new bridge. My wife actually agreed to me using this candle to coat the screws. To be fair, the candle is lucky to still be in our house because it's I hate ornamental shit like that. Look at the dirty dust that's gathered in it!



Once I'd drilled the holes I was able to fit the bridge temporarily to mark the string-through holes. I also used the sawdust to start filling up the original bridge holes. I need more sawdust but it's a start.

I'm now doing some engineering thinking about how to get the holes to go neat and straight through the body. I'm hoping a slow and steady approach will keep the drill bit on track. Ultimately, I'll drill a little way through from the front of the guitar so that the exit holes are lined up with the bridge. I believe the usual plan is to drill the outer holes all the way through to act as guides and then use the bridge to mark the centre 4 holes on the rear of the body. I'll also consider using a locating pin thingy on my workbench to line up the hole on the front with the drill bit, then flip the body over and locate the hole onto the pin so I can drill the from the rear.

But I bottled out for now, and will set it up again tomorrow. Fortunately, I'm between jobs just now so I should be able to do it this week. I'm looking forward to getting past this stage because it's killing my enthusiasm.

roundthebend

I hate these clever woodworking people:
CLICK > Smart ass string-through-body approach

djspecialist

@roundthebend what's the candle wax for?

roundthebend

djspecialist said:

@roundthebend what's the candle wax for?

I heard others saying it was a good idea when screwing into wood - I think it helps the screws to go in without needing excessive force which can chew the heads and crack the wood. It felt very smooth so I think it's a good idea. The caution I read was that any spillage could prevent paint from covering, but these holes are under the bridge so I'm not too fussed.

roundthebend

Anybody else having to check the challenge dates because they've made close to zero progress?  

I'm going away on holiday for a week soon, I suspect it'll be a mad rush in December to start and finish my build. All good fun.

I know for certain that I'm not at work on December 25th and 26th, so maybe I can spend 2 solid days in my kitchen/workshop.....

stickyfiddle

Don't worry - I haven't even ordered my kit yet...! Just come off a 70 hour work week so no energy for anything other more difficult than reading t'internet...!

I'm following this with great interest - it's gonna be great

roundthebend

stickyfiddle said:

Don't worry - I haven't even ordered my kit yet...! Just come off a 70 hour work week so no energy for anything other more difficult than reading t'internet...!

Thanks for the encouragement.

stickyfiddle said:

I'm following this with great interest - it's gonna be great

But not for the pressure  

roundthebend

Progress is non-existent. The challenge didn't specify which year the construction window closes....maybe I'll finish before 2020 begins.

WezV

Well if you get chance to at least make a start, you should.

I purposely wrote the requirements to allow unfinished projects - its the progress thread  that's important.

I am also massively behind on mine... but should be posting an update or two in the next few days

roundthebend

WezV said:

Well if you get chance to at least make a start, you should.

I purposely wrote the requirements to allow unfinished projects - its the progress thread  that's important.

I am also massively behind on mine... but should be posting an update or two in the next few days

Cheers WezV.
I kind of started. I drilled pilot holes to fit the new bridge. The main blocker for me is that I don't have a pillar drill for the string-through-body holes. I bought a stand for my Dremel hoping that would suffice, but it won't. Fortunately I have a mate with a pillar drill but he isn't available until after Xmas.